Being prone to mystical experiences

[Carl-Richard]

My brother recently told me about an experience he had 2 months ago before he went to bed. He was really tired and ended up just staring himself in the mirror for 10 minutes, and after a while, he felt a so-called weird scary feeling and as if he was no longer looking at himself anymore. He snapped out of it quickly, but he thinks he had a brief moment of ego death.

I've had similar experiences as a small child. One time, I was looking up at the night sky with my friend and got in touch with the infinity of the universe and felt a deep fear of dying. This kept happening many times as I was growing up. It probably ended when I was around 11, but then it came back really strong during the summer when I was 14. Then after that, it disappeared virtually for good, all up until I started meditating 5 years later. Now it's a daily occurence.

It seems that these things are strongly influenced by inheritance, but I also think it can be just as strongly influenced by environment. Have any of you had any similar experiences from when you were young? What do you think about the nature/nurture debate? Are some just cursed with the wrong set of genes or is it possible for anyone to have these experiences?

Edited March 27, 2021 by Carl-Richard

[At awe]

I’ve done the same thing with the mirror. After awhile you are not sure anymore who is it that is staring back. Love it.

[mandyjw]

Those would be examples of existential misunderstandings more that mystical experiences because of the presence of fear and despair. It's like asking a deep question with power, but the answer has yet to hit you because fear and despair is from the perspective of the limited asker of the question, not the answer. You are both the question and the answer, you are what has seemingly split itself into question and answer. The wholeness of this is the answer. You must feel, attune to the wholeness and the question you asked can back to you as the answer. 

7 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

It seems that these things are strongly influenced by inheritance, but I also think it can be just as strongly influenced by environment. Have any of you had any similar experiences from when you were young? What do you think about the nature/nurture debate? Are some just cursed with the wrong set of genes or is it possible for anyone to have these experiences?

Genes and past experience are diversity, not limitations when seen from the ultimate, Wholeness of what is, non-perspective. Seen from that perspective they are like an artist's color palate. Red is limited in that it is not green, but all separate colors are only visible WITHIN the pure light that already contains the potentiality of all colors. 

[BipolarGrowth]

I had my first insight when I was like three years old or something lol. I had my first “clairsentience” or “crown chakra” activity in second grade although it was quite faint. This stuff is far more predetermined or genetic than most people want to realize. Leo is good to promote the idea of different levels of natural spiritual ability. It’s simply the way things are. Not everyone is set up to become a gold medalist sprinter, so why people think there is some kind of level ground when it comes to spirituality is beyond me. Even for you to become a more or less engaged member of actualized.org relies on a number of factors we have no control over. 

[Strangeloop]

I've had an experience where I stared at a mirror too. After staring for a longer period of time my face started to blur and a new set of eyes came on top of my old eyes. Which looked like someone else's eyes. Like someone from another side of the world was also staring at the mirror and having my set of eyes on top of his or her's. Now I'm on the search for that person who saw those eyes in the mirror. Maybe it's the Love of my Life. ??

[Tarzan]

When I was like 6 years old or something returning to apartment with mom I was for some reason contemplating on life, why I was here etc. I guess I was becoming self-awaee and also aware that people suffer in life and it rubbed me in a 'wrong way'. But suddenly a major insight just struck me, which was that death is connected to 'finding out the truth', and with enthusiasm I told my mom right then and there with a smile on my face 'I want to die!' not knowing I would spook the heck out of her. Some other experinces where I had a shift in consciousness, it felt ineffable and could not explain to myself just what had happened. Looking back I spontaneously recognized 'the witness' but it was fleeting, also I've always felt very uncomfortable around edges, corners, and sharp things approaching my forehead, I guess they made my third eye uncomfortable, I thought it was just normal back then.

Probably a genetic component to it, or some kind of predisposition to be more existentially oriented than most people. But there might be the case that it is more common than we think, but people close themselves out of these experiences for fear of being insane or something like that. Maybe all people have these weird experiences at some point but some of them fear it and close themselves off from them for the rest of their lives, they forget and deny it so much that they think it never even happened to them.

[EddieEddie1995]

On 3/27/2021 at 8:53 AM, At awe said:

I’ve done the same thing with the mirror. After awhile you are not sure anymore who is it that is staring back. Love it.

I meditate with a mirror in front of me hehe Nice hack for realising that no one is staring back heheh

Also, it helps you make a clearer distinction  between how you create the illusion of your face, and how the face doesn't exist. (This makes sesne for me) hahah? 

Mirror is amazing for consciousness work! 

Try out  "Do nothing technique" in front of a mirror for a month and see what happens. Im sure you will have very interesting shifts of consciousness ? Freaky one's for sure! ?